1. Welcome to Louisiana, USA
Rotary District 5580 – Northern Minnesota, North Dakota, and Western Ontario, Canada and Rotary District 6200 – Southern Louisiana, USA

2. Rotary District 6200 Rotary
Hi, my name is Darrin Guidry and I’m the team leader for our group. I want to first thank our generous hosts for all of their hospitality. I also thank your club for welcoming us to your meeting today.
Our group is from District 6200 in the State of Louisiana. Louisiana is located in the South west quadrant of the United States of America and borders the Gulf of Mexico to the south. The state of Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north and Mississippi to the east. Our district was formed in 1915 and consists of 51 clubs and 2,523 members

3. Louisiana was named by French explorer Robert de La Salle to honor France's King Louis XIV and his wife Anna in The first permanent settlement was established by the French in What is now the state of Louisiana was part of a larger Louisiana territory, all of which was sold to the United States by Napoleon in 1803 for 15 million dollars.

4. The territory was divided into 14 states, Louisiana among them.

5. District 6200 Team
Our team is comprised of 5 Rotarians and 4 spouses.

6. Houma, Louisiana Opelousas Baton Rouge Abbeville New Orleans
My family and I live in the city of Houma, which is in the parish of Terrebonne.

7. Terrebonne Parish
The population of our parish is about 110,000, many of whom have French ancestry dating back to the exile of the French Acadians from Nova Scotia in the 18th century. There is also an indigenous minority, descendants of the Houmas Indians.

8. Terrebonne - Good Earth
Terrebonne is French for Good Earth named so because of the beauty of the area and the many waterways that crisscross through it. Despite what you may have heard in the media, most of our area and coastal Louisiana has seen minimal environmental impacts from the recent oil spill. Our state has been more impacted from closed fisheries and a moratorium on all offshore drilling than from the oil itself.

9. Economy Oil & Gas Fishing Sugarcane Farming
Our economy is based on three industries: commercial fishing, sugarcane farming and oil & gas exploration and production.
Sugarcane Farming

10. BP Deepwater Operations Center
We are the center of Deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and headquarters of BP’s Gulf of Mexico operation. This is a picture of one of the BP facilities in Houma that now serves as the emergency operations center for the oil spill response.
BP Deepwater Operations Center
Houma, Louisiana

11. Haitian water well project
Dictionary project
There are three Rotary clubs in Houma, I belong to the oldest - the Rotary Club of Houma. We have about 96 members and we are very active in our district. These are two projects we completed last year for which I am most proud. We sponsored a dictionary giveaway to kids in the area to promote literacy, and we teamed up with the district to drill a water well in Haiti which went online just days before the earthquake and it is still in service. I am a past president and currently serve as an Assistant District Governor.
Haitian water well project

12. Baton Rouge, Louisiana Opelousas Baton Rouge Abbeville New Orleans
Houma
New Orleans
Abbeville

13. 11 Flags have flown over Louisiana
   
Castile and Leon –Spanish
Fleur-de-Lis –French
Union Jack – British
Bourbon Spain – Spanish
French Tri –Color Nov 30, Dec 20, 2803
Flag of West Florida Bonnie Blue -- Sept 1810 to Dec 1810
US 15 Stars and Stripes
National Flag of LA 1861
Confederate States of America
Louisiana State Flag 1912

14. 10 Flags have flown over Louisiana
Two flags currently remain with
Baton Rouge being the seat of state government.
   
State Capitol Building
Completed May 16, 1932
Tallest state capitol in USA
450 Feet
34 floors –249,000 Sq. Ft.
Cost $5 million
Louisiana State Flag 1912

15. Facts about the city
More than 800,000 people live in the metropolitan area.
Baton Rouge is one of the largest cities on the Mississippi River
Baton Rouge is now Louisiana's most populous city
Baton Rouge has a semi-tropical climate. The weather is consistently warm from May to September. Winter is usually mild and short-lived (generally only January and February) perfect for outdoor activities.

16. Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana
LSU one 30 universities nationwide holding land-, sea- and space-grant status.
First Session Jan 2, 1860
Located on more than 2,000 acres
26,000 Students
5,000 Staff
1,400 International Students
4,000 Graduate Students
1, 500 Faculty

17. Petrochemicals and refining
Baton Rouge Economy
The ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge, with a capacity of 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day, is one of the largest refineries in the world.
Petrochemicals and refining

18. Shipping and international commerce
Baton Rouge Economy
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is strategically located at the interchange of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which links major Gulf ports between Florida and Texas, and the head of deep-water navigation on the Mississippi River, which is a critical part of the Inland Waterways System.
It is America's seventh largest port and ranks ninth among the nation’s ports in waterborne commerce.
Shipping and international commerce

19. Some Projects Supported by the RC of Baton Rouge:
With over 500 members, the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge is one of the largest of the 30,000+ clubs across the globe
Founded October 1, 1918
Some Projects Supported by the RC of Baton Rouge:
Partnership with Junior Achievement's "Our Community" Project
International Students
Diploma Plus
Youth Challenge Program
The Second Step Project
Interact Club at Baton Rouge Magnet High School
Rotaract Club at Southern University.

20. Opelousas, Louisiana
Opelousas
Baton Rouge
Houma
New Orleans
Abbeville

21. Opelousas Economy - Agriculture

22. Abbeville, Louisiana
Opelousas
Baton Rouge
Abbeville
New Orleans
Houma

23. Home of: Noel Bajat, Rotary International Director, , Past District 6200 Governors, Silar Cooper, Noel Bajat, Don Chauvin, Member Dan Dartez, since 1977, Past President , Paul Harris Fellow, Rose Dartez, Paul Harris Fellow

24. MAJOR AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS: Rice, Beef Cattle, Sugarcane, Soybean, Crawfish, Alligators

25. Abbeville Area Abundant Natural Resources
Shrimping Industry

26. Celebrations in Abbeville, LA
Giant Omelette Recipe
5000 small Eggs 50 pounds medium Onion, chopped 75 Green Bell Peppers, finely chopped 1 1/2 gallons pure Vegetable Oil 52 pounds Butter 6 1/4 gallons Milk 4 gallons chopped Green Onion Tops 2 gallons finely chopped fresh Parsley Tabasco Pepper Sauce (season to taste) Crawfish Tails
Abbeville's Giant Omelette Celebration
Abbeville Rotarians cooking a Giant Crawfish Etouffee’ for a major fund raising event

27. See Y’all in New Orleans!
Louisiana Rotary District and
Minnesota/North Dakota/Ontario, Canada Rotary District 5580
Rotary Friendship Exchange
April 19, – May 3, 2017
See Y’all in New Orleans!